Many priorities you mentioned are of great importance: Foreign Investment Screening, Dual-use issues, WTO reforms, FTAs with Mexico and Mercosur are very important for the European Union, also the implementation of the Association Agreements and DCFTAs with Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, you mentioned, are important. Especially taking into account the European Parliament recommendations for the Eastern Partnership Summit adopted with a huge majority in favour in November of the last year.

But today I would like to point out and draw your attention to the issue, which is quite new in trade and that is AMR, Antimicrobial resistance. Many of us, at least about 5 years ago, haven‘t even heard about this issue.

In 2016 the UN General Assembly took action and last year in 2017 the European Commission launched an AMR Action plan, which offers plans but no action. With the recent policy and numbers we will face about 10 million deaths per year by 2050 if no action is taken. We must act now, including developing alternatives for antibiotics in husbandry, fish farming, and possibly through taxes and labelling.

The Estonian Presidency of the European Union took this topic high on their agenda and organised high-level meetings and conferences. So, it is time to include the topic of AMR into the International trade agenda as we always have agricultural chapters in our free trade agreements.

The AGRI committee of the European Parliament is already considering calling on the European Commission to enforce a ban on the import of food products from animals raised with antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) when negotiating free trade agreements.

A paradox emerges, when in Europe, European pharmaceutical companies are prevented from selling antibiotics for growth promotion in Europe and have a policy of reducing AMR, but are allowed to continue with the wide distribution of antibiotics for husbandry in non-EU countries. Moreover, the food derived from these animals raised with antibiotics is imported into Europe later, raising the risk of resistance in the EU.

In conclusion, I would like to draw your attention, Mister Minister, and the attention of the Bulgarian Presidency to the problem of the AMR and the place this issue should have in our trade negotiations and our trade agreements and, certainly, I wish you a very successful Presidency.